Portillo, Eckles to be inducted into WSMR Hall of Fame

WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, N.M. -- White Sands Missile Range will induct El Paso native Andres Portillo and Jim Eckles into its Hall of Fame this year during a special luncheon and ceremony on Oct. 23. They are being honored for their outstanding contributions to the missile range's mission and join an elite group of 48 men and women inducted since 1980.

The two inductees represent the opposite ends of the WSMR work spectrum, with Portillo coming out of the technical, data collection area of the National Range and Eckles from the Public Affairs Office. Portillo was an expert in optics, developing and utilizing camera systems to capture test data as missiles screamed through the sky at supersonic speeds impacting targets with resounding explosions. Eckles explained such systems and tests to the public, grew to be a Public Affairs factotum and was known as the "range historian" when he retired.

Portillo was born in El Paso in 1936 and graduated from Cathedral High School. After a stint at Texas Western (now UTEP), Portillo joined the White Sands workforce in 1958.

Right away, Portillo grasped the business of using various camera systems to capture different kinds of missile information. By the mid-60s he was the team leader for "standing up" ballistic cameras on the north end of White Sands for tests of such night shots as the Athena. Athena missiles were fired from Green River, Utah, in the middle of the night.

The cameras recorded the steaks of light from the Athena's re-entry vehicle as a booster propelled it down into the target area on White Sands. The trajectory of each vehicle was then analyzed using the exposed film.

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Portillo's experience with all the different camera systems and the many needs of test programs placed him on the front lines during the late 1970s through the '80s. This was a time when the range was moving away from manned camera equipment and developing remotely controlled and automatic tracking equipment.

The new systems included the Aided Laser Tracking System (ALTS), the Multi-Mode Automatic Tracking System (MATS), the Launch Area Theodolites (LATS) and the Kineto Tracking Mount (KTM). These systems allowed closer placement of optics to hazardous events since no humans were on board. Stunning photos were the result.

Also, video was integrated into some of them and suddenly, range controllers and program personnel could see what was going on in real time. They were no longer blind.

According to Portillo's nomination, his "leadership was instrumental in integrating the remote automatic tracking systems" into WSMR's data collection capability. When it came to operating and maintaining these systems, Portillo "was the go-to-person."

This type of recording capability was necessary for the future of testing at White Sands and serves as the "backbone of today's optical systems." It was important because the missile systems changed and the program managers wanted to see particular events captured in great detail.

For example, the Army Tactical Missile System's missile can carry a variety of submunitions to be dispensed over a target area. These can vary from hundreds of little bomblets to a handful of smart weapons like the BAT that move out and seek targets on their own. Without these remotely controlled optics systems, the cameras would be safely placed miles away -- out where the images might be soft, fuzzy or lacking in detail. Instead, because no humans are needed to man the new optical systems, the cameras are in close capturing big, clear pictures.

By the 1990s, Portillo's experience and expertise put him in a position to help other military test ranges. In the Department of Defense there is a Range Commanders Council. All the military services participate and the intent is to share knowledge, technical standards, and equipment, if possible.

Initially Portillo was the missile range's representative to the Optical System group of the council. In 1994 he was made the vice-chairman of the group and then chairman in 1996 and again in 1998.

According to Portillo's nomination, he took on the role of "leader for the development and operational readiness of laser tracking systems" across the Army, Navy and Air Force test ranges. He is also credited for ranges sharing instrumentation which resulted in enormous cost savings.

Finally, Portillo "was instrumental in coordinating the effort to develop digital imaging systems to replace legacy film-based instrumentation." In fact, when the effort began, he coordinated the program for White Sands to host an "imaging shoot-off" so developers could test their devices during live missile firings. The shoot-off gave them the background they needed to go ahead and build the instruments WSMR and others would use to move from film to digital.

As they say, the rest is history. White Sands no longer uses film which means it no longer needs a huge film processing facility. That alone saves buckets of money. Also, data is available much, much faster now, which makes testers happy.

Portillo retired in 2001 and still resides in El Paso.

Eckles was raised in Lincoln, Neb. where he attended the University of Nebraska, majoring in English literature and psychology. He then earned his masters degree in English lit from the University of Washington in Seattle.

Eckles came to the White Sands Public Affairs Office in 1977 as a Department of Army intern. On arrival, he was pushed to learn as much about the missile range as possible. He wrote news releases and feature stories about White Sands capabilities, weapons systems under test, and the people who made it all work. In addition, he conducted tours and escorted visitors all over the range -- to places like the Optics Lab, the Nuclear Effects fast-burst reactor, the Navy launch complexes, Trinity Site, and Victorio Peak.

That knowledge paid off when KOBE radio asked him to do a small radio spot every morning during the WSMR morning drive time. From 1992 to 2003, Eckles interacted with the morning DJ to talk about some aspect of White Sands. He was on the air about 2,400 times and often had to fall back on his diverse knowledge for a meaningful topic each and every day.

With his interest in the White Sands history before 1940, Eckles was always ready to arrange and escort former WSMR ranchers to their homes for a visit. At first, range officials were reluctant to allow the visits without a great deal of security. Eckles was able to demonstrate the visits could be done safely and easily by himself and other Public Affairs staff members. Because of Eckles, many family reunions were held on the old ranches.

In return, Eckles learned a great deal about the ranchers' plight and what it was like living in such remote locations in the early part of the 20th century. Often he was able to communicate that side of the story to missile range officials so they understood what happened to those families and why they might not trust the Army.

His enthusiasm for the landscape and complex history of WSMR rubbed off on others. Employees were always asking about the UPRANGE areas. Eckles devised a plan to periodically take a busload of employees for the day to see many of the places they had only heard about. This program ran for many years.

Because of his historical knowledge, Eckles proved to be the go-to-guy for many of the interpretive signs on WSMR. The Environmental Office obtained the funds and asked Eckles to write and design the signs for the national historic landmarks -- Trinity Site and Launch Complex 33. He also created the interpretive signs for the Nike Hercules and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's kiosk at San Augustin Pass.

Early on, Eckles understood the potential of the Internet. When Public Affairs was first offered a page on the WSMR website, Eckles jumped in. Working mostly from home, he turned the office's fact sheets, other handouts, photos and news materials into digital data. While most organizations simply had their phone number and an address posted, Public Affairs had most everything available that the office could possibly hand out. The Trinity Site section alone had dozens of photos, visitor's guide, attendance numbers, maps, eyewitness reports and more.

Eckles was noticed for his extra effort and in 1990 he was given the Test and Evaluation Command's Professionalism Award. In 1998, he was selected as one of six missile range employees nominated for the New Mexico Distinguished Public Service Awards. In 1999, he was selected as the WSMR Civilian of the Year in the Professional Category.

Finally, Eckles was often called on to tell some aspect of the White Sands story downtown. Over the years he spoke to groups in places as far away as Albuquerque, Belen, Roswell and Carlsbad as well as those communities surrounding White Sands. Since he retired, it is something he has continued as people want to hear his "range tales."

Eckles retired from WSMR in 2007 and resides in Las Cruces.

Menu selections for the Hall of Fame Luncheon are sliced barbeque brisket of beef (tossed salad, ranch beans and mixed vegetables, dinner roll with butter, coffee and tea) or chicken cardon blue (tossed salad, wild rice and steamed vegetables, dinner roll with butter coffee and tea). The cost is $15. Please call the Public Affairs Office at (575) 678-1134 to register by credit card or you may stop by Building 1782 to pay cash.